3-Dimensional Pharmaceuticals

About 3-Dimensional Pharmaceuticals

3-Dimensional Pharmaceuticals (3DP) was a drug discovery company founded in 1993 by F. Raymond Salemme, who also served as President and Chief Scientific Officer. The company was established with an initial focus on structure-based drug design and later expanded its capabilities to compete with emerging combinatorial chemistry and high-throughput screening technologies.

The company developed a proprietary technology platform called DiscoverWorks™, which integrated high-throughput screening (ThermoFluor®), combinatorial chemistry (DirectedDiversity®), and structure-based drug design to streamline the discovery of small-molecule drugs. This platform aimed to reduce costs and improve the quality of drug candidates entering clinical trials by efficiently identifying and optimizing leads against genomic targets. 3DP's internal research programs concentrated on discovering orally active pharmaceuticals for cardiovascular disease, oncology, and inflammation.

3DP's business model included forming funded research collaborations with major pharmaceutical partners, which provided cash flow, access to complementary biology and expertise, and validation of its technology. The company established significant partnerships with companies like DuPont, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Centocor (a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson). These collaborations were central to its strategy, running in parallel with its internal discovery programs.

In March 2003, 3-Dimensional Pharmaceuticals was acquired by Johnson & Johnson for approximately $88 million, net of cash. Following the acquisition, 3DP was integrated into Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development, L.L.C., to enhance their discovery and development capabilities. At the time of the acquisition, 3DP had around 200 employees.